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The Role of Herbs in Modern Health Care
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Herbal
Mainstreaming
In December, 1994 an historic conference was held in Washington, DC on "Botanicals: A Role in US Health Care?" This conference was sponsored by the Office of Alternative Medicines (OAM) of the National Institutes of Health, in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The conference was a forum to air issues associated with the research, regulation, and sale of botanicals found on the American market for the intended use of promoting health. For the first time, the conference brought together regulators, researchers, government health research personnel, and practitioners, as well as individuals engaged in the herb business.
During this conference it was noted that this is the beginning of a new era of botanicals and herbal medicine in which herbs would take their rightful place in the US healthcare system.
There is a new trend in health care towards mass market use of herbs for health. Herbs are going mainstream! Herb usage will be growing at an unprecedented rate for the next several years. Given the current growth rate, the herbal market is expected to increase from the current rate of 1.5 billion dollars to beyond 5 billion dollars by the turn of the century.
Increased Consumer Interest
Sales of herbs has risen dramatically in drugstores and supermarkets since 1994.
According to a report by Towne-Oller, a division of Information Resources, Inc. of New York, herbs are some of the top 10 dollar garners in mass market compared to 1993 sales, with a 32% sales increase in drugstores totaling $74.7 million and 41% growth in food stores to $31.9 million. The average growth for both outlets was 35%, totaling 106.7 million in retail sales.
During the debate on the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, that would have curtailed pubic access to herbs vitamins, and minerals, Congress received more consumer input against the proposed FDA regulation than it has on any other issue in its history. It is clear that we are on the edge of an exploding revolution in health care. Herbs for healing are quickly becoming an accepted part of public health usage.
"Interest in herbs is becoming a national obsession" says Mark Blumenthal, cosponsor with the Smithsonian Institute of "Nature"s Pharmacy: The Power to Heal," a conference on herbal medicine and drug discovery from plants. " The retail market is booming," Blumenthal noted . The use of herbalism by the general public may be much higher than previously thought by health officials.
New Herbal Medicinal Training
Several established institutions have set up educational, research and complementary use programs to meet this new consumer demand. The newly formed Rosenthal Center for Alternative and Complementary Medicine at the College of Surgeons and Physicians, Columbia University will offer training programs in botanical medicine to physicians. A new botanical medicine course, with an aim toward training a new class of herbal information providers for the health industry, is being contemplated at Temple University.
The American Botanic Council (ABC) and the Texas Pharmacy Foundation (TPF) have created a joint venture project which will provide this home study training for pharmacists in areas of herb and phytomedicines. ABC will produce and sell the materials and TPF will market them to pharmacists nationwide. The initial courses have been approved by the American Council of Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE), and pharmacists may receive continuing education credit for three modules already developed.
This unique educational opportunity came about as a result of a survey taken by TPF of 500 of its members, which showed 74 percent of the pharmacists were interested in more information on herbal medicine.
Nontraditional Medicine
The King's County council of Washington State approved the establishment of the nation's first government run natural medicine clinic. The Seattle clinic will be managed by Bastyr University. The clinic will be monitored by a panel of nationally known experts . After two years of operation, the panel will evaluate the clinic's cost-effectiveness patient satisfaction, medical outcomes, and potential for reducing the inflation of health care costs.
Blue Cross of Washington and Alaska initiated a pilot program to cover natural medicine costs for 1,000 individual subscribers. A 1993 study by the New England Journal of Medicine found that more than one-third of Americans use some form of natural medicine, spending $10.3 billion on alternative therapies each year.
In a landmark New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM 1993. Vol. 3218; pp. 246-252) study on alternative therapies published in 1993, Dr. Eisenburg and other researchers from Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School made some interesting discoveries about the widespread use of common therapies, including the use of herbal remedies. During the study year, Americans made 425 million visits to providers of alternative medicine practices, exceeding the 388 million visits made to primary care providers in the same year. In addition, one in three Americans reported relaying on at least one alternative therapy for the treatment of a serious illness (70 percent of these individuals did not mention this to their personal physician).
After years of suspicion and hostility some health insurers are discovering that nontraditional medicine can save them money. Giants like Mutual of Omaha are covering chiropractic care (most states leave them no choice). Prudential now pays for acupuncture. The Seattle based Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound will soon cover midwife assisted home births. And a handful of adventurous networks are offering people everything from herbs to homeopathy for minor ailments.
Education for Herbal Usage
Lagging behind this response to consumer demand, is accurate education about the safe and effective use of herbs. Much of the consumer herbal information available today is taken from herbal traditions in which herbs were used for treatment of acute conditions that require emergency or aggressive treatment. The result is that much of the current herbal information is not adequately useful for the kind of health care needs that we face today.
For the first time in medical history, the majority of our health problems are from chronic degenerative diseases. This means that herbalism must be practiced quite differently than in the past. It is inappropriate to use the herbalism of the past which tended to use aggressive herbs in an aggressive manner. Without significant readjustment, much of traditional herbal medicine does not work to restore health, vitality stamina to our bodies. It is no good using heroic measures to nudge a body into correcting disturbances more efficiently if that body cannot even rise to meet present challenges. Heroic herbal use may actually harm the body.
The effects of chronic stress, pollution and the depletion of vitamins and minerals in our food (e.g. in 1948 a bowl of spinach contained 112 mg of iron. Today, that same bowl of spinach contains only 7 mg of iron) makes it imperative to learn a new supportive, enhancing and nourishing approach to the use of herbs.
It is imperative that the consumer has access to information because, as this rapid inclusion of herbs occurs in American health care, there will be a tendency to simply begin using herbs according to conventional allopathic standards.
For instance, allopathic medicine operates on what is termed 'the worst possible case ' theory. According to this theory the most active and strongest remedy is used to stop a symptom. The use of the strongest herb is often harmful. It is important that you not only understand the herb you are using but also understand the guidelines for how herbs are to be used for the maximum benefits with the least side effects. Herbs and medications are not used in the same manner and it is essential that as a user of herbs that you know these differences and learn how to use and choose herbs accordingly. A new botanical medicine must come into being to keep pace with the demand for the inclusion of herbs in our health care. Those who use herbs need to be provided with education from an experiential prospective coupled with appropriate traditional usage and legitimate scientific information.
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© Copyright 1997 - 2008 by Mary Ann Copson and Evenstar. All rights reserved.
About the Author:
Mary Ann Copson is the founder of the Evenstar Mood & Energy Wellness Center for Women. With Master's Degrees in Human Development and Psychology and Counseling, Mary Ann is a Certified Licensed Nutritionist; Certified Holistic Health Practitioner; Brain Chemistry Profile Clinician; and a Health, Wellness and Lifestyle Coach. Reconnect to your physical, emotional, mental, psychological and spiritual natural rhythms at
http://evenstaronline.com
